While religion can be quite comfortable with society,
there are times when it stands in tension to society. In such cases,
religion’s influence is to shape and reform the values of society rather
than to uphold and enforce society’s values. In his influential work,
The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, sociologist Max
Weber makes a compelling case that the religious values of
Protestantism were a crucial factor in the emergence of capitalism in
America. John Calvin, one of the Protestant reformers, had emphasized the
importance of serving God in one’s secular vocation. Consequently, hard
work, frugality, and the wise use of resources became virtues in
Protestant thought. It was this influence of Protestantism that seemed to
explain how the capitalistic spirit in the new world of North America
surpassed that of the capitalistic centers of Europe such as Florence.

Another example of how religion can shape society may be
found in a 19th century series of “revivals” that came to be
known as the Second Great Awakening. These revivals took the form
of protracted outdoor “camp meetings” in the new American frontier. They
were attended by extremely large numbers of people, called for individual
conversion and were usually highly emotional. So many of these revivals
were going on in so many different places that it was impossible to keep
track of them. They were also conducted on a scale that is remarkable: it
is estimated that between 10,000 and 25,000 people gathered at the Cane
Ridge camp meeting in Kentucky. At the time, the largest town in Kentucky
(Lexington) had a population of less that 1,800!

The results of the Second Great Awakening are many
and far-reaching. Among the ways that the Second Great Awakening
influenced society are:

The emergence of a
“Disinterested Benevolence.” In other words, a new emphasis on
helping others began to emerge. Sin was equated with selfishness and
conversion signaled a shifting from selfishness to a concern for
others. Faith had to be expressed in action, especially action that
reformed society and shaped it according to what was perceived to be
God’s will. Consequently, the American Bible Society, the American
Colonization Society, temperance societies and the American Anti-Slavery
society all came into being in the wake of the Second Great Awakening.
In addition, the Second Great Awakening led to the founding of many
educational institutions (such as FurmanUniversity) and overseas missions
are launched. “The goal is to purify American society and make it ready
for the coming Kingdom.”

The Second Awakening helped
redefine the role of women in society. Many of the organizations
that grew out of the movement were the first institutions where women
could make a contribution take on leadership roles.

An anti-slavery movement emerged from the
Second Great Awakening. Part of the mission to purify the nation
included the abolition of slavery. Interestingly, the anti-slavery
movement first emerged in the South. By 1826, there were 45
anti-slavery societies in the South, and the region also led the nation
in the number of anti-slavery newspapers. Eventually, of course, this
situation changed and religion in the South served to preserve slavery
with theological arguments. As this happened, the abolitionist movement
emerged more strongly in the North. Around 1830 two evangelical
preachers, Charles G. Finney and Theodore Weld, began organizing
church-based abolitionist societies that called for an immediate end to
slavery. In the decades leading up to the Civil War, leaders of the
abolition movement continued to arise from the ranks of the evangelical
Christians influenced by the Second Great Awakening.

The effects and influence of the Second Great
awakening are still felt in modern American society. Although Second Great
Awakening profoundly influenced American Society of the 19th
century in many ways, these three examples demonstrate that religion can
and does influence society in profound and long-lasting ways.